La Jolla Pharmaceutical expands team

La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company made two additions to its management team.

The biopharmaceutical company develops medical treatments for life-threatening diseases.

Stacey Ruiz, Ph.D., was hired as director of research and development, and Chester S. Zygmont III was named director of finance.

Ruiz will be working on the development of La Jolla Pharma's pipeline drug candidates alongside James Rolke, senior director of research and development and patentee for the technology behind GCS-100.

GCS-100, the company's lead product candidate, is a first-in-class inhibitor of galectin-3, a novel molecular target implicated in chronic organ failure and cancer.

Zygmont will be leading the management of all financial responsibilities including accounting, regulatory reporting, investor relations, and treasury.

Ruiz comes to La Jolla Pharma after five years at Reata Pharmaceuticals, most recently working on bardoxolone methyl for the treatment of chronic kidney disease.

Zygmont joins La Jolla Pharma following his role at investment firm Z3 Capital LLC where he served as managing director. Zygmont also served as vice president at Symmetry Advisors, a private equity leverage buyout firm in New York City.

"We are now positioned to effectively advance the development of our pipeline with the goal of commercializing products that can help those suffering and in need of better treatments," said George Tidmarsh, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO of La Jolla Pharma.